Abstract
One of Jack Kevorkian's most controversial cases involved Hugh Gale, a seventy-year-old man suffering from emphysema and congestive heart disease, who was found dead on February 15, 1993 with a canister of carbon monoxide attached to a gas mask on his face. A document discovered in a garbage bag indicated that Gale had attempted to change his mind prior to his death requesting that the mask be taken off two separate times. The document revealed mat Kevorkian removed the mask only once, the patient lapsing into unconsciousness after the second request—and dying. A search warrant of Kevorkian's apartment was issued as a result of this discovery, revealing a copy of the original document which had been altered to conceal the second request by Gale to remove the mask. The prosecutor decided against bringing charges against Kevorkian because of the lack of corroboration among the witnesses present at Mr. Gale's death.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.